II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 99 

To promote the production of molybdenum-99 in the United States for medical isotope production, and to condition and phase out the export of 

highly enriched uranium for the production of medical isotopes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25 (legislative day, JANUARY 5), 2011 

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To promote the production of molybdenum-99 in the United 

States for medical isotope production, and to condition 

and phase out the export of highly enriched uranium 

for the production of medical isotopes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Medical Iso5 topes Production Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. IMPROVING THE RELIABILITY OF DOMESTIC MED7 ICAL ISOTOPE SUPPLY. 

8 (a) MEDICAL ISOTOPE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy 

2 shall establish a technology-neutral program— 

3 (A) to evaluate and support projects for 

4 the production in the United States, without 

5 the use of highly enriched uranium, of signifi6 cant quantities of molybdenum-99 for medical 

7 uses; 

8 (B) to be carried out in cooperation with 

9 non-Federal entities; and 

10 (C) the costs of which shall be shared in 

11 accordance with section 988 of the Energy Pol12 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352). 

13 (2) CRITERIA.—Projects shall be judged against 

14 the following primary criteria: 

15 (A) The length of time necessary for the 

16 proposed project to begin production of molyb17 denum-99 for medical uses within the United 

18 States. 

19 (B) The capability of the proposed project 

20 to produce a significant percentage of United 

21 States demand for molybdenum-99 for medical 

22 uses. 

23 (C) The cost of the proposed project. 

24 (3) EXEMPTION.—An existing reactor fueled 

25 with highly enriched uranium shall not be disqualiVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:43 Jan 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S99.IS S99

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1 fied from the program if the Secretary of Energy de2 termines that— 

3 (A) there is no alternative nuclear reactor 

4 fuel, enriched in the isotope U–235 to less than 

5 20 percent, that can be used in that reactor; 

6 (B) the reactor operator has provided as7 surances that, whenever an alternative nuclear 

8 reactor fuel, enriched in the isotope U–235 to 

9 less than 20 percent, can be used in that reac10 tor, it will use that alternative in lieu of highly 

11 enriched uranium; and 

12 (C) the reactor operator has provided a 

13 current report on the status of its efforts to 

14 convert the reactor to an alternative nuclear re15 actor fuel enriched in the isotope U–235 to less 

16 than 20 percent, and an anticipated schedule 

17 for completion of conversion. 

18 (4) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND REVIEW.—The 

19 Secretary of Energy shall— 

20 (A) develop a program plan and annually 

21 update the program plan through public work22 shops; and 

23 (B) use the Nuclear Science Advisory 

24 Committee to conduct annual reviews of the 

25 progress made in achieving the program goals. 


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1 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary of Energy for carrying out the program under 

4 paragraph (1) $143,000,000 for the period encom5 passing fiscal years 2011 through 2014. 

6 (b) DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

7 Energy shall establish a program to provide assistance 

8 for— 

9 (1) the development of fuels, targets, and proc10 esses for domestic molybdenum-99 production that 

11 do not use highly enriched uranium; and 

12 (2) commercial operations using the fuels, tar13 gets, and processes described in paragraph (1). 

14 (c) URANIUM LEASE AND TAKE BACK.—The Sec15 retary of Energy shall establish a program to make low 

16 enriched uranium available, through lease contracts, for 

17 irradiation for the production of molybdenum-99 for med18 ical uses. The lease contracts shall provide for the Sec19 retary to retain responsibility for the final disposition of 

20 radioactive waste created by the irradiation, processing, 

21 or purification of leased uranium. The lease contracts 

22 shall also provide for compensation in cash amounts equiv23 alent to prevailing market rates for the sale of comparable 

24 uranium products and for compensation in cash amounts 

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1 eral Government for the final disposition of such radio2 active waste, provided that the discount rate used to deter3 mine the net present value of such costs shall be no great4 er than the average interest rate on marketable Treasury 

5 securities. The Secretary shall not barter or otherwise sell 

6 or transfer uranium in any form in exchange for services 

7 related to final disposition of the radioactive waste from 

8 such leased uranium. 

9 SEC. 3. EXPORTS. 

10 Section 134 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 

11 U.S.C. 2160d) is amended by striking subsections b. and 

12 c. and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 

13 ‘‘b. Effective 7 years after the date of enactment of 

14 the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2011, 

15 the Commission may not issue a license for the export of 

16 highly enriched uranium from the United States for the 

17 purposes of medical isotope production. 

18 ‘‘c. The period referred to in subsection b. may be 

19 extended for no more than 6 years if, no earlier than 6 

20 years after the date of enactment of the American Medical 

21 Isotopes Production Act of 2011, the Secretary of Energy 

22 certifies to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

23 the House of Representatives and the Committee on En24 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) there is insufficient global supply of molyb2 denum-99 produced without the use of highly en3 riched uranium available to satisfy the domestic 

4 United States market; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the export of United States-origin highly 

6 enriched uranium for the purposes of medical iso7 tope production is the most effective temporary 

8 means to increase the supply of molybdenum-99 to 

9 the domestic United States market. 

10 ‘‘d. To ensure public review and comment, the devel11 opment of the certification described in subsection c. shall 

12 be carried out through announcement in the Federal Reg13 ister. 

14 ‘‘e. At any time after the restriction of export licenses 

15 provided for in subsection b. becomes effective, if there 

16 is a critical shortage in the supply of molybdenum-99 

17 available to satisfy the domestic United States medical iso18 tope needs, the restriction of export licenses may be sus19 pended for a period of no more than 12 months, if— 

20 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of Energy certifies to the 

21 Congress that the export of United States-origin 

22 highly enriched uranium for the purposes of medical 

23 isotope production is the only effective temporary 

24 means to increase the supply of molybdenum-99 necVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:43 Jan 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S99.IS S99

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1 essary to meet United States medical isotope needs 

2 during that period; and 

3 ‘‘(2) the Congress enacts a Joint Resolution ap4 proving the temporary suspension of the restriction 

5 of export licenses. 

6 ‘‘f. As used in this section— 

7 ‘‘(1) the term ‘alternative nuclear reactor fuel 

8 or target’ means a nuclear reactor fuel or target 

9 which is enriched to less than 20 percent in the iso10 tope U–235; 

11 ‘‘(2) the term ‘highly enriched uranium’ means 

12 uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the iso13 tope U–235; 

14 ‘‘(3) a fuel or target ‘can be used’ in a nuclear 

15 research or test reactor if— 

16 ‘‘(A) the fuel or target has been qualified 

17 by the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test 

18 Reactor Program of the Department of Energy; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) use of the fuel or target will permit 

21 the large majority of ongoing and planned ex22 periments and isotope production to be con23 ducted in the reactor without a large percentage 

24 increase in the total cost of operating the reac25 tor; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) the term ‘medical isotope’ includes molyb2 denum-99, iodine-131, xenon-133, and other radio3 active materials used to produce a radiopharma4 ceutical for diagnostic, therapeutic procedures or for 

5 research and development.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. REPORT ON DISPOSITION OF EXPORTS. 

7 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

8 of this Act, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Com9 mission, after consulting with other relevant agencies, 

10 shall submit to the Congress a report detailing the current 

11 disposition of previous United States exports of highly en12 riched uranium, including— 

13 (1) their location; 

14 (2) whether they are irradiated; 

15 (3) whether they have been used for the pur16 pose stated in their export license; 

17 (4) whether they have been used for an alter18 native purpose and, if so, whether such alternative 

19 purpose has been explicitly approved by the Commis20 sion; 

21 (5) the year of export, and reimportation, if ap22 plicable; 

23 (6) their current physical and chemical forms; 

24 and 


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1 (7) whether they are being stored in a manner 

2 which adequately protects against theft and unau3 thorized access. 

4 SEC. 5. DOMESTIC MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUCTION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 10 of the Atomic Energy 

6 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amended by add7 ing at the end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 112. DOMESTIC MEDICAL ISOTOPE PRODUC9 TION.— a. The Commission may issue a license, or grant 

10 an amendment to an existing license, for the use in the 

11 United States of highly enriched uranium as a target for 

12 medical isotope production in a nuclear reactor, only if, 

13 in addition to any other requirement of this Act— 

14 ‘‘(1) the Commission determines that— 

15 ‘‘(A) there is no alternative medical isotope 

16 production target, enriched in the isotope U– 

17 235 to less than 20 percent, that can be used 

18 in that reactor; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the proposed recipient of the medical 

20 isotope production target has provided assur21 ances that, whenever an alternative medical iso22 tope production target can be used in that reac23 tor, it will use that alternative in lieu of highly 

24 enriched uranium; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Energy has certified that 

2 the United States Government is actively supporting 

3 the development of an alternative medical isotope 

4 production target that can be used in that reactor. 

5 ‘‘b. As used in this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘alternative medical isotope pro7 duction target’ means a nuclear reactor target which 

8 is enriched to less than 20 percent of the isotope U– 

9 235; 

10 ‘‘(2) a target ‘can be used’ in a nuclear re11 search or test reactor if— 

12 ‘‘(A) the target has been qualified by the 

13 Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reac14 tor Program of the Department of Energy; and 

15 ‘‘(B) use of the target will permit the large 

16 majority of ongoing and planned experiments 

17 and isotope production to be conducted in the 

18 reactor without a large percentage increase in 

19 the total cost of operating the reactor; 

20 ‘‘(3) the term ‘highly enriched uranium’ means 

21 uranium enriched to 20 percent or more in the iso22 tope U–235; and 

23 ‘‘(4) the term ‘medical isotope’ includes molyb24 denum-99, iodine-131, xenon-133, and other radio25 active materials used to produce a radiopharmaVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:43 Jan 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S99.IS S99

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1 ceutical for diagnostic, therapeutic procedures or for 

2 research and development.’’. 

3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

4 the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is amended by inserting 

5 the following new item at the end of the items relating 

6 to chapter 10 of title I: 

‘‘Sec. 112. Domestic medical isotope production.’’. 

7 SEC. 6. ANNUAL DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REPORTS. 

8 The Secretary of Energy shall report to Congress no 

9 later than one year after the date of enactment of this 

10 Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, on Department 

11 of Energy actions to support the production in the United 

12 States, without the use of highly enriched uranium, of mo13 lybdenum-99 for medical uses. These reports shall include 

14 the following: 

15 (1) For medical isotope development projects— 

16 (A) the names of any recipients of Depart17 ment of Energy support under section 2 of this 

18 Act; 

19 (B) the amount of Department of Energy 

20 funding committed to each project; 

21 (C) the milestones expected to be reached 

22 for each project during the year for which sup23 port is provided; 


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1 (D) how each project is expected to sup2 port the increased production of molybdenum3 99 for medical uses; 

4 (E) the findings of the evaluation of 

5 projects under section 2(a)(2) of this Act; and 

6 (F) the ultimate use of any Department of 

7 Energy funds used to support projects under 

8 section 2 of this Act. 

9 (2) A description of actions taken in the pre10 vious year by the Secretary of Energy to ensure the 

11 safe disposition of radioactive waste from used mo12 lybdenum-99 targets. 

13 SEC. 7. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REPORT. 

14 The Secretary of Energy shall enter into an arrange15 ment with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct 

16 a study of the state of molybdenum-99 production and uti17 lization, to be provided to the Congress not later than 5 

18 years after the date of enactment of this Act. This report 

19 shall include the following: 

20 (1) For molybdenum-99 production— 

21 (A) a list of all facilities in the world pro22 ducing molybdenum-99 for medical uses, includ23 ing an indication of whether these facilities use 

24 highly enriched uranium in any way; 


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1 (B) a review of international production of 

2 molybdenum-99 over the previous 5 years, in3 cluding— 

4 (i) whether any new production was 

5 brought online; 

6 (ii) whether any facilities halted pro7 duction unexpectedly; and 

8 (iii) whether any facilities used for 

9 production were decommissioned or other10 wise permanently removed from service; 

11 and 

12 (C) an assessment of progress made in the 

13 previous 5 years toward establishing domestic 

14 production of molybdenum-99 for medical uses, 

15 including the extent to which other medical iso16 topes that have been produced with molyb17 denum-99, such as iodine-131 and xenon-133, 

18 are being used for medical purposes. 

19 (2) An assessment of the progress made by the 

20 Department of Energy and others to eliminate all 

21 worldwide use of highly enriched uranium in reactor 

22 fuel, reactor targets, and medical isotope production 

23 facilities. 

24 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act the following definitions apply: 


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1 (1) HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM.—The term 

2 ‘‘highly enriched uranium’’ means uranium enriched 

3 to 20 percent or greater in the isotope U–235. 

4 (2) LOW ENRICHED URANIUM.—The term ‘‘low 

5 enriched uranium’’ means uranium enriched to less 

6 than 20 percent in the isotope U–235. 

7 SEC. 9. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

8 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

9 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

10 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

11 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

12 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

13 by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, pro14 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

15 vote on passage. 

Æ 


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